In the subject application and specification, the term "thatch" is employed to refer to the grass blades, leaf fragments and particles, weed fragments and particles and the like that collect around and at the bases of blades of grass and the other plants that make up a lawn. The subject device is particularly directed to the provision of a new leaf and thatch raking device which employs novel principles of operation and novel apparatus and structural features in order to carry out the leaf and thatch raking task in a most efficient and effective way.
Effective leaf and thatch raking machines which (1) not only "reverse rake" the lawn, whereby to effectively pick up thatch, debris, leaf fragments and leaves, while (2) still further taking the raked material through a pulverizing or mulching zone and (3) then passing the processed lawn debris material into a storage container are not known or available in the market. It is well known that there is need for such a device. The optimum conditioning or reconditioning of thatch and debris in heavy lawns is required. Heavy efforts are presently made to clear the thatch from the healthy, desired grass and then, separately, collect and bag same. Great efforts are employed in this latter type of task.
Elements of this invention and process are known, per se. Thus, it is well known to rake up or pick up materials in a lawn with the line of travel of a power raking machine. It is known to use an airflow creating means to move lawn debris materials with respect to, say, a conveyor system. It is known to take materials raked from a lawn and pass them into a blade comminuting system. It is, of course, old to put collected materials derived from lawn raking, comminuted or not, into a collection bag or zone. What has not been done in the art is to provide an integrated system involving highly efficient raking, highly efficient transport of raked materials from the raking zone, direct passage of the said material into a comminuting zone of great effectiveness and efficiency, continuous withdrawal of comminuted material from the last mentioned chamber and, thereafter, a process and means for moving and passing the comminuted material to a closed, yet venting container in a continuous manner, retaining the comminuted material in the container and venting the air from the container.